ENG-1957 — Page 149

124

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT

were in receipt of scholarships and other awards with which to finance their education at other institutions.

Vegetable Marketing Organization. Following the success of the Fish Marketing Organization, Government decided to introduce a similar system for the selling wholesale of locally produced vegetables, in which the problems were not dissimilar. The scheme, which was first established in September 1946, now operates under the Agricultural Products (Marketing) Ordinance, 1952, which provides for the appointment of a Director of Marketing who is made a corporation sole with power to acquire and dispose of property, and for the appointment of a Marketing Advisory Board, consisting of the Director as Chairman and four other persons, nominated by the Governor, who have wide and practical experience of the difficulties and needs of farmers.

The Organization undertakes two main functions. First, it collects vegetables from depots and posts conveniently located throughout the New Territories and transports them to the wholesale vegetable market in Yau Ma Tei. Second, it arranges the sale of this produce and manages all the attendant financial transactions.

In these respects the Organization is very similar to its Fish Marketing counterpart. Important differences, however, lie in the methods of sale which in the case of the Vegetable Marketing Organization is by negotiation and not by auction, and in the degree of practical assistance provided by Co-operative Marketing Societies which are responsible for handling approximately 65% of the total local production of vegetables. The reasons for negotiated sales, as opposed to an auction system, are not difficult to find: on an average, approximately 12,000 separate lots are sold daily to some 2,500 buyers. The number of lots rises to over 20,000 a day in the main season, making sales by auction impracticable. The Organization is self-supporting and the costs of the various services are met from a 10% commission charged